Can Olympic Dam copper mine be developed without uranium recovery?
Dr Gavin M. Mudd Environmental Engineering, Monash University December 2010
“…… – it is eminently reasonable to propose a process flow sheet for Olympic Dam which does not include recovery of the uranium but still allows for copper, gold and silver to be produced.
http://users.monash.edu.au/~gmudd/files/ODam-Cu-only.pdf
Of course, a more modern idea is in design. Designing technologies so that it is practical and relatively easy to RECYCLE copper – C.M.
Open cut mine at Olympic Dam dead in the water? perhaps just copper extraction now?
Writing on the wall now gospel The Age, August 23, 2012 Malcolm Maiden “…..The decision to defer the Olympic Dam open-cut project was forced by a tightening cost-benefit equation as capital costs rose and commodity prices eased.
BHP said at its announcement that it would investigate ”an alternative, less capital-intensive” open-pit design, and is expected to focus on copper extraction technologies, among other things.
The biggest cost in the project is digging the open-cut quarry. There is no way to significantly downsize project costs without reducing the size of the hole, and the amount of overburden that needs to be removed before the ore body is exposed.
The final outcome is in the hands of the markets and the copper price, but the full-blown open-cut idea may be dead.
http://www.theage.com.au/business/writing-on-the-wall-now-gospel-20120822-24mqf.html#ixzz24PobKbbu
The Olympic Dam uranium project – uneconomic, unnecessary for South Australia
At its peak, the mine was expected to consume more electricity than the city of Adelaide, and 100 Olympic swimming pools worth of fresh water every day.
Olympic Dam was too expensive.
South Australia will be fine. Mining accounts for a relatively small share of South Australia’s overall economy, and only 1 per cent of its employment.
the carbon emissions from Olympic Dam would have dwarfed all the gains in emissions reductions that South Australia has made in renewable energy in recent years
The Olympic Dam Delay Has A Silver Lining New Matilda, By Ben Eltham 23 Aug 12, Why did BHP Billiton halt the Olympic Dam mine? The project was just too expensive. The decision is good news for the South Australian environment, writes Ben Eltham
Picture a hole in the ground four kilometres long and one kilometre deep. Picture a manmade mountain of dirt next to it nearly as high — a mountain of dirt dug from the ground and heaped next to that hole, a new landmark on the South Australian horizon.
Picture a mega-project so large and so thirsty that it would have required a new baseload electricity generator to meet its power needs, and a new desalination plant hundreds of kilometres away on the coast to make the water it required.
Picture a mine so vast, it would have increased the world supply of Uranium by a third.
This was the vast edifice that was to be Olympic Dam — when finished, the largest mine in the world. Continue reading
OLympic Dam uranium mine expansion a financial white elephant despite government help
BHP cans Olympic Dam expansion Financial Review 22 AUG 2012 JAMIE FREED, MATHEW DUNCKLEY AND GEMMA DALEY BHP Billiton has confirmed it is not proceeding with a planned $US20 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper-uranium mine in South Australia as it reported its first annual profit fall in three years. As foreshadowed by The Australian Financial Review, the world’s largest miner said sluggish market conditions including subdued commodity prices and higher capital costs had triggered the decision and it would hold talks with the South Australian government in the coming months over the project.
BHP will take a $US346 million writedown on the project in the 2012 financial year……
Before BHP’s announcment, Prime Minister Julia Gillard was asked during question time in Parliament to guarantee the outlook of the project.
“We have legislated carbon pricing so BHP when they are making those decisions can do it against a backdrop of certainty,” she said.
“But in fact, the uncertainty for BHP and Olympic Dam, the uncertainty for every business in this country comes from the destructive negativity of the Leader of the Opposition and his reckless attempt to roll back every economic reform that makes sense for this country and will build our prosperity.”
BHP has been working on plans to expand Olympic Dam as an open pit since the $9.2 billion acquisition of WMC Resources in 2005, which was championed internally by its now chief executive Marius Kloppers……BHP has environmental approvals in place for a much smaller expansion of the existing underground operation to 350,000 tonnes of copper production a year but Mr Mackenzie indicated it had done very little work on that option relative to the open pit.
Expanding the underground mine, at a potential cost of $US2 billion to $US3 billion, could make building an open pit more difficult in the future.
Mr Kloppers is likely to come under pressure from investors over the large amount of spending to date on the open pit concept.
BHP last year approved $US1.2 billion of pre-commitment capital for the project and likely spent hundreds of millions of dollars prior to that on studies of the expansion over the last seven years.
However, one analyst noted that spending on drilling and metallurgical studies along with some surface infrastructure could still be applied to an underground expansion…..Credit Suisse analyst Paul McTaggart has calculated the project has only a 10 per cent internal rate of return based on long-term prices, which is lower than the 15 per cent typically targeted by BHP. He does not expect it would be free cash-flow positive until 2021 if approved this year.
The project has suffered from rising capital costs amid a stronger Australian dollar and higher input and labour costs and a weaker outlook for the key byproduct, uranium….. http://afr.com/p/markets/market_wrap/bhp_confirms_olympic_dam_expansion_ePeUWL4Wd1ZVrTW75RWleO
BHP scraps plans for Olympic Dam gigantic new uranium mine
BHP cancels $30 billion Olympic Dam expansion near Roxby Downs in South Australia Outback Business Writer Meredith Booth AdelaideNow August 22, 2012 BHP Billiton has shelved its $30 billion Olympic Dam expansion and will go back to the drawing board to find a cheaper alternative….
.. However, BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers today insisted market conditions, subdued commodity prices and higher capital costs led to the decision, which has been the subject of speculation within several months.
“As we finalised the details of the project … it became clear that the right decision for the company and its shareholders was to continue studies to develop a less capital-intensive option to replace the underground mine at Olympic Dam,” Mr Kloppers said…….
The mine would have become the world’s biggest open cut copper and uranium mine at six kilometres long and one kilometre deep.
The news came as BHP Billiton announced a 21 per cent fall in annual profit of $US17.1 billion…… Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said BHP had made a decision based on international factors.
“South Australia unfortunately, even though we did everything right … forces outside of our control took over,” he said.“These resources aren’t going anywhere .
Uranium exploring companies in Australia deserting an economically sinking ship
Marketing mavericks turn heads at Diggers & Dealers meet THE AUSTRALIAN BY: ROBIN BROMBY The Australian August 13, 2012 “….. Uranium? Head for the hills. Forget about it. The spot price is down to $US49.25 a pound.
Joe Gutnick’s Top End Uranium (TEU) is flicking the switch to precious gems exploration, just the latest of many uranium explorers heading for the doors.
In this case, it cites constant delays in getting access to its ground as the reason, but you would have to be a uranium true believer to put another dollar into the ground right now.
As Warwick Grigor at Canaccord Genuity points out in his Friday note, prices of uranium companies are being reduced to shell levels.
He cites companies with advanced projects such as Uranium SA (USA) with $3 million in the bank and a market cap of $8m, while Bannerman Resources (BMN) has cash of $9m and market cap of $27m…..”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/marketing-mavericks-turn-heads-at-diggers-dealers-meet/story-fnciihm9-1226448709580
Australian uranium miner Paladin lost $39 billion in 9 months
Uranium mine lost K39 billion in 2011 , The Maravi Post, 10 Aug 12 BLANTYRE–The Kayekelera uranium mine in Karonga, which is operated by Paladin Energy Limited of Australia, lost K39 billion in nine months of operation ending March 2012 due to fluctuating prices of the commodity on the international market, the company’s top official has said.
Greg Walker, general manager for international affairs, told the Daily Times Business that the loss was a result of the historic earthquake in Japan that produced a Tsunami in March last year. Spot price for uranium oxide dropped from $75 (some K21, 000) to $47.50 (K13, 000) after the closure of Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.
Walker said now the price is at $49.50 -K14,000 – saying this was below the direct cost of production at Kayelekera, the country’s biggest investment. Walket told the daily that Paladin have bankrolled $145 million–K41 billion- to keep the mine afloat… http://www.maravipost.com/malawi-news/society/1486-uranium-mine-lost-k39-billion-in-2011.html#.UCbaJ6FlT4Y
Lynas rare earths project in trouble: investment advice to dump Lynas
Analysts recommend investors dump Lynas Australian Mining, 10 August, 2012 Andrew Duffy Foster Stockbroking has recommended investors sell shares in Lynas because the company’s rare earths processing plant in Malaysia is likely to face further delays. In an investor note today Foster said approval of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant had been “a drawn out saga” and the upcoming Malaysian election would force further delays.
“Appeals by local groups and the opposition party regarding the environmental impacts of the plant have resulted in the LAMP becoming a politically sensitive issue and delayed a final decision on issuing the licence,” Foster analysts said…..
http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/analysts-recommend-investors-dump-lynas?fb_ref=.UCX0ch5fn6U.like&fb_source=home_oneline
Toro Energy – time to come clean on costs of Wiluna uranium mine plan
8 Aug 12 Western Australia’s peak environment group, one of the appellants against Toro Energy Ltd’s proposed Wiluna uranium mine, has called on the company to reveal the expected costs for closure and rehabilitation for the mine, which the Council says could make the project uneconomic.
Piers Verstegen, CCWA Director said “Under WA’s new mine closure guidelines, mining companies are required to pay the full costs of mine closure. In addition, the WA Parliament recently passed a motion that would require uranium mine waste to be isolated from the environment for no less than 10,000 years.
Despite these requirements, Toro are making claims about the financial viability of the Wiluna uranium project without disclosing the costs of mine closure and rehabilitation to shareholders, the WA Government or the community they expect to host the mine.”
“Mining giants BHP and Cameco have both recently concluded that their uranium projects in WA and South Australia are not economically viable. After carefully analysing the cost structure of uranium projects including the very high mine closure and rehabilitation costs, these companies have shelved their projects as they simply don’t stack up.
“The big difference between Toro Energy and the mining giants is they have no operating mining projects and nothing to lose. Unlike BHP and Cameco who have huge portfolios at stake, Toro energy could easily abandon an uneconomic uranium mine and leave the clean-up bill to be paid by WA taxpayers.
“Even their largest investor Oz Minerals, which holds a 43% stake in the company, described Toro as a ‘tiny company’ and a ‘non core asset’ at their recent AGM in Melbourne.
“It may be that Toro’s business model does not involve ever paying their mine closure costs, with the company instead planning to abandon the mine site and leave this liability to the WA taxpayer. This would explain the company’s failure to account for mine closure costs in the information they have provided to shareholders.
“Given this very real possibility, the WA Government should apply the same standards used by the big mining companies in assessing uranium proposals. If Companies like BHP and Cameco are not prepared to gamble their extensive assets on this uncertain industry, our Government should not be prepared to gamble taxpayers’ money and the health of our environment and communities on uranium mining.”
Investors warn – forecast for Olympic Dam mega uranium mine just gets gloomier
Argo worries BHP’s $3b write-downs a warning sign, The Age, Michael Evans August 7, 2012 JASON BEDDOW, the boss of listed investment company Argo Investments, has expressed concern over the $3 billion in write-downs at BHP Billiton, saying he fears there may be more to come.
After announcing a 3 per cent fall in Argo’s net profit to $167.3 million for 2012, Mr Beddow, who estimates his firm’s BHP 
stake at about $260 million, told BusinessDay that he would like BHP management, led by the chief executive, Marius Kloppers, to know that ”you need to be a bit prudent”….
Mr Beddow said that there was ”every chance they will have to take [further] write-downs’….. if you really wanted to point the [finger] that’s what you’re paid for in a CEO. You’re paid for responsibility.”…
The market was concerned at the uncertainty around some of its major projects such as Olympic Dam, he said.
The push for monster Olympic Dam uranium mine – a monster mistake for Marius Kloppers?
a go-ahead decision on the $US30bn expansion will be delayed for at least two years.
Kloppers made what can now be said to have been an error in talking up the ability of its monster cashflow to fund $US80bn over five years in organic projects to the end of the 2015 fiscal year. Olympic Dam was included in those organic growth projects…
The big money in horse racing waits to the last moment in case an unknown becomes known and changes the odds. A decision on Olympic Dam is much the same. ….
Olympic Dam decision will show Kloppers’ standing BY: BARRY FITZGERALD : The Australian July 31, 2012 THE number five is popping up everywhere for Marius Kloppers. He turns 50 next month, has been chief executive for five years come October, and on August 22 will get to announce an annual profit fall of $US5 billion ($4.7bn) and the need for a $US5bn or so writeoff on last year’s US shale gas push
Then there is the talk that the clock on his chief executive tenure is at five minutes to midnight, ….
Rounding out the string of fives is whether the time is right to commit $US5bn to kick-start the Olympic Dam expansion. A decision on that is due in December. Continue reading
Investment funds applaud BHP’s decision to shelve Olympic Dam uranium mine expansion
factors hampering BHP’s ability to build massive expansion projects like Olympic Dam.
Shelving projects ‘a wise move for miners’ THE AUSTRALIAN, BY: MATT CHAMBERS AND BARRY FITZGERALD July 30, 2012 THE nation’s biggest listed investment fund and one of BHP Billiton’s top shareholders has applauded moves by big miners to shelve Australian projects because of high costs and sliding commodity prices.
Over the weekend, the most likely of Australia’s next big uranium developments, the Kintyre project in the Great Sandy desert, became the latest victim after being hit by sluggish prices for the nuclear fuel and Western Australia’s heated construction market.
The shelving of Kintyre, by Canada’s Cameco, came as The Weekend Australian revealed BHP had told outsiders of a two-year delay on a $30 billion decision due this year on expanding the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia’s outback.
Australian Foundation Investment Co managing director Ross Barker said the time of huge profits from very high commodities prices appeared to be coming to an end, Continue reading
Australian uranium projects not economically viable – Kintyre, Yeelirrie, Olympic Dam
Uranium prices halt Sandy Desert project, BY: BARRY FITZGERALD The Australian July 29, THE most likely of Australia’s next big uranium mine developments – the Kintyre project in Western Australia’s Great Sandy desert – has fallen victim to sluggish demand and prices for the nuclear fuel, and WA’s “hot” construction market for resource projects.
Project operator and 70 per cent owner, Canada’s Cameco, has revealed that the economics of the project are “challenging” in that a development would not be profitable at current uranium prices. Prices are 34 per cent below where they need to be for a viable project.
The sluggish demand backdrop has implications for BHP Billiton which must find a home for the additional uranium it will produce with the planned $30 billion expansion of its Olympic Dam copper/uranium/gold mine in South Australia’s outback.
The expansion would see uranium output at Olympic Dam grow massively from 9.6 million pounds a year to 40.6 million pounds a year – 17 per cent of forecast global mine output in 2020.
But the Weekend Australian revealed that BHP plans to defer a decision on the project for two years.
Sluggish uranium demand has already reported to have led to BHP becoming disinterested in moving towards developing its Yeelirrie uranium deposit in WA.
Cameco chief executive Tim Gitzel told analysts that Cameco was “not going to develop Kintyre at any cost Continue reading
BHP’s technology problems with its dubious Olympic Dam uranium mine plan
BHP Billiton’s desperate Olympic race Business Spectator Robert Gottliebsen, 30 Jul 
2012 “……there is another problem that is causing some to speculate that BHP needs a technical as well as a customer partner at Olympic Dam. BHP was once a global mining technology giant. That is no longer so and it relies on outsiders for much if its technical expertise.
The company has a history of failure in high technology mining ventures including Hartley Platinum, hot iron briquettes, mineral sands and Ravensthorpe…..
Any non-smelter solution to Olympic Dam will again thrust BHP into high technology mining treatment where it has a track record of failure.
BHP is not the only global miner to run down its technology in favour of highly profitable digging and shipping. If BHP steps back from Olympic Dam in December it should also reveal any wider long-term treatment problems and canvass new partners.
Footnote: BHP’s environmental statement revealed it planned to spend six years removing the overburden to access the ore body. In all, it planned to remove a 350 metre thick layer of overburden and the rock taken out will be transported to a rock storage facility that covers 6,720 hectares and will eventually be 150 metres high. By 2050, when the mine has not even completed half its life, the pit would be 4.1 kilometres long, 3.5 kilometres wide and one kilometre deep …..”
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/BHP-Billiton-Olympic-Dam-China-ore-prices-pd20120730-WNSYX?OpenDocument&emcontent_Gottliebsen
BHP delays for 2 years decision on whether or not to go ahead with new Olympic Dam uranium mine
Olympic Dam threat as BHP puts brakes on
BY: SARAH MARTIN, SA POLITICAL REPORTER The Australian July 28, 2012 “,,,,,,Documents obtained by The Weekend Australian show the company has informed outsiders that a decision to proceed with the project – spruiked by federal and state Labor governments as key to South Australia’s economic future – will be delayed by two years……The expansion would make Olympic Dam the world’s largest uranium mine,,,,,the strongest indication yet that the project will not receive board approval before the end of the year, meaning the company will fail to meet the government’s December 8 deadline and its indenture agreement will lapse…… The potential delay for the project comes as the South Australian government has recently softened its commentary on the importance of the mine expansion to the state’s economy. Treasurer Jack Snelling last week told The Australian that the mine expansion was never going to be a “cash cow” for government coffers….” http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/olympic-dam-threat-as-bhp-puts-brakes-on/story-fn59niix-1226437208652
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